Amazon.com essential video: John Wayne's old studio home, Republic, made this 1949 drama about the heroic capture of an important island in the Pacific by marines in World War II. Director Allan Dwan (Brewster's Millions), a pioneering filmmaker from the silent days of cinema who easily crossed over into sound, handles the action sequences like a consummate pro, while Wayne works hard as the tough sergeant molding new recruits into fighters. John Agar plays a contentious surrogate son to Wayne, though the relationship is hardly the stuff of Red River. --Tom Keogh
Amazon.com: This classic World War II actioner has Wayne as a tough but compassionate Marine Corps sergeant, John M. Stryker. Tough name, too. Stryker's job is to turn a bunch of raw recruits into a fighting machine. His no-holds-barred approach causes a great amount of friction, not to mention a running subplot concerning his personal life that makes him something of an enigma to his men. The mystery of his past is not fully resolved until the very ending, by which point Stryker is decidedly a war hero. The supporting roles of those who hate Stryker's guts, and who are inevitably won over, are played handsomely by John Agar and Forrest Tucker. Veteran film director Allan Dwan helmed this one, and used real war footage and three of the surviving soldiers who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi to reenact that momentous event. An engrossing and entertaining war flick all around, boasting one of the Duke's finest, most measured and layered performances. The DVD includes a wonderful making-of featurette hosted by Leonard Maltin, interviewing Wayne's son, John Agar, and some of the military personnel who served as advisors on the film. --Jim Gay
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - The Best Film of the Pacific War
This film had the three surviving flag raisers: Pfc. Rene A. Gagnon, Pfc. Ira H. Hayes, PM3C John H. Bradley. This film was dedicated to the USMC, who aided in its production. The screenplay was written by Harry Brown, the author of "A Walk in the Sun", and has some of the actors from that earlier film. It begins after the Battle of Guadalcanal. The men are sent to New Zealand to rest, retrain, and get more replacements. Sgt. John M. Stryker is the squad leader. He will learn the men what isn't in ... Read More
Rating: - A Realistic Portrayal of WWII Pacific Combat
Sergeant Stryker (John Wayne) must prepare his men for combat. He does! He subjects his men to rough bayonet drills and other forms of combat.
Many modern war movies are sanitized of the realities of war. Not this one! There are numerous scenes of soldiers suffering and dying. There is a scene where a Jewish soldier says his last prayers in Hebrew. There is no happy ending for Sergeant Stryker himself.
The viewer sees the progression of the US island-hopping campaign. The ... Read More
Rating: - War is Hell
John Wayne is at his best as Sargeant Striker, the veteran Marine who must whip his young marines into a fighting unit. The tough wayne never lets up and is the leader to the end. One of the few films that Wayne dies in. A strong cast and story that takes you into the life of a WWII marine. This one made Wayne a star. Must see.
Rating: - TorpanInternational
John Wayne gave the portayal of that type of soldier from all over the world ,giving his full all against tyrany in WW2.All the cast potrayed human sides of characters with the same objective.The film is a credit to ,also ,the behind the scenes crew producing it.
It is one I could see many times again.10 out of 10 or 5 stars.
Rating: - Hypnotic in its flag-waving way...
For 'Sands of Iwo Jima,' Wayne won his first Academy Award nomination in a role that presented him again as a ruthless leader of men, this time the toughest leatherneck, hated and then loved for his hardness:'In boot camp you learned the book. Out here, you gotta remember the book and learn a thousand things that have never been printed, probably never will be. You gotta learn and you gotta learn fast. And any man that doesn't want to cooperate, I'll make him wish he hadn't been born. Before I'm through ... Read More